Political Science

Choose for your course

First decide whether your course is political theory, American politics, comparative politics, international relations or methods. Classics help frame questions about authority and justice; modern courses test claims against institutions, cases and evidence. A book on one country’s constitution is not a general guide to politics everywhere.

Suggested reading approach

1. For each claim, identify the institution or actors, the country and period, and the evidence used. Separate a normative argument about what should happen from an empirical claim about what does happen.
2. Use primary texts to understand an argument in context, then compare it with a current case or another political system. Avoid treating a classic as a direct description of today.